Chapter 131 Summer Outing

"Sister, will you go out with us tomorrow?"

Xia Wu was lying on a lounge chair in the yard playing with her cell phone. Xia Heng and Xia Zhi stayed in the mountains to take over her job of milking buffaloes. She moved back home. Liu Guizhen was very happy and cooked different dishes for her every day.

This made Xia Wu feel very guilty. "I just went to live in the mountains, not to stay away from home. Why do you act like I'm not home every day?"

Liu Guizhen complained, "How can it be the same? Before, when you lived at home, I could make breakfast for you no matter how early you got up, and you'd just let me know if you were coming home for lunch. Now you find it troublesome, so you don't eat breakfast at home and you eat lunch in the mountains. How much time do I get to see you all day? It's not as convenient as living at home."

She wished she could give all the time she had missed over the years to Xia Wu.

Xia Wu lives in the mountains because she wants to have some private space. In the mountains, she can sleep as late as she wants and go wherever she wants. She doesn't have to ask for permission before going somewhere else.

To put it bluntly, she was actually paving the way for Ji Yunzhou's return.

After Ji Yunzhou comes back, they will definitely meet often. How can she be like an underage girl who has to say hello to her parents every night whether she is coming home or not?

There is still half a month before Ji Yunzhou returns. Xia Wu counted the days on her fingers. When the time is almost up, she will kick Xia Heng out and move back to the mountains. Before that, she should satisfy Liu Guizhen and stay at home honestly.

The apricots and plums on the mountain were out of season one after another, and there were not many fruits left. You could pick them and eat them, so Xia Wu downloaded the link.

Peaches are selling like hotcakes right now, but judging by the situation, they probably won’t be around for long.

These fruit trees are not technologically advanced. They ripen when they are supposed to and leave when the time is up. It's so lively as one tree ripens and another comes in.

More and more watermelons are ripening in the melon fields, so there is no need for Jindou and Heidou to go out of their way to look for them. They are currently being sold step by step.

The flower fields have been cleared and the seedlings have been planted. With Dr. Jiang Xun, the agricultural doctor, watching over them, the survival rate of the seedlings is 100%.

With someone watching everything, Xia Wu became idle. He would lie at home in broad daylight, sleeping and playing with his mobile phone. A fruit plate grown at home was placed on the table next to him. If he wanted a drink, he would ask Yang Hongwen to go to the bayberry stall at the entrance of the village and buy two cold drinks. It was as beautiful as it could be.

Just as I was leisurely, a dark head suddenly popped in from the open door. I took a look and it was none other than Yang Mingyuan.

Xia Wu subconsciously glanced at his phone. Today is Friday, isn't it time to go home from school yet?

"Yang Mingyuan, why are you back? Did you skip class?"

"Sister~" Yang Mingyuan said with a droopy face, "Am I that kind of person? We are on vacation. The college entrance examination is coming soon. We all need a vacation!"

"Oh..." Xia Wu really didn't know about this. "What does the college entrance examination have to do with you? Why do you want to take a holiday?"

Yang Mingyuan was really stumped by the question. Their place was so remote and the college entrance examination would not use their school as an examination venue, so why did they have to take a holiday?

But no matter what, Yang Mingyuan said cheerfully: "Who knows? My sister is also on vacation and will be back tonight. She told me last week. Sister, do you want to go out and play together tomorrow?"

Xia Wu waved for him to come in. Behind him was a group of children. At first glance, there were Wang Yuexia's child, Yang Guoen's child, Qiu Lan's twins, and almost half of the children in the village came to see her.

Xia Wu treated these children well, and every weekend she would have them work. They earned pocket money from her, and they could eat and drink, and they were as happy as they could be. Children are very understanding creatures, and they will always be attached to whoever treats them well. They would follow Xia Wu around all day, calling her "sister" and being very affectionate to her.

"Where do you want to go?"

Xia Wu thought about it and felt that he had been a bit lazy these past two days, staying at home all day, so it would be okay to go out for a walk with them.

"Sister, do you want to pick lotus flowers? We can go boating and pick lotus flowers!"

"Haotang Village? No, there must be a lot of people during the holidays."

It's hot now, and many parents bring their children out on weekends and holidays. Haotang Village has large areas of lotus flowers and shallow streams, which is suitable for all ages. It has already gained a reputation and many people go there.

The green meadows on both sides of Chaotian River have become a special camping spot, but Xia Wu didn't want to join in the fun at all.

"Let's not go to Haotang. I know a place with a wild lotus pond. Not many people there. Let's go there to pick lotus flowers, catch snails and fish for crayfish. Sister, let's have a barbecue tomorrow, shall we?"

Yang Mingyuan is a little rascal who loves to eat and play. Ever since his mother came back to accompany them, he has become more and more confident and lively.

My academic performance has also improved a lot.

Xia Wu felt very relieved to see a child being led onto the right path by her. As long as Yang Mingyuan's request was not too excessive, she would basically agree to it.

After all, she is the leader of her own Boy Scout troop and has to take care of the children to work for her.

After all, he is a general under her command.

The other children also agreed: "Yes, sister, just come with us!"

Xia Wu couldn't resist them, and she was even a little tempted. She also liked lotus flowers, but there were too many people in Haotang Village, and she was too lazy to join in the fun. She didn't go there often and never really played with them.

If there was an undisturbed wild lotus pond, she would really like to go there. Besides, didn't she still have the beautiful clothes her mother made? Maybe she could put on some makeup tomorrow and take some photos to send to Ji Yunzhou so that he would be eager to go home.

Thinking of this, Xia Wu agreed and asked the children to get ready and go with them to pick lotus flowers tomorrow.

The next day after breakfast, the children arrived as promised and went to Xia Wu's house to wait for her to put on makeup.

Xia Wu was wearing a moon-white cheongsam today with her hair tied up. She looked gentle and pretty. When the children saw her, they all exclaimed "Wow".

"Sister, you are so beautiful."

"Sister, you can go act in a TV series. Those who act in TV series are not as good-looking as you!"

"Sister, what is this red thing?"

Xia Wu was putting on makeup in the yard. The light was good. She glanced at what the child was pointing at and said, "Blush."

"Sister, why are you wearing blush?"

"It's to make your face look red."

"Then why do you want to whitewash yourself?"

Where does this little brat get all this nonsense from?

Xia Wu glanced at them sideways, full of charm, "Have you eaten yet? Have you brought your food? I'm wearing makeup and beautiful clothes today, I can't get them dirty."

The boys and girls rushed over and said, "Sister! You don't have to do anything, just leave everything to us!"

Xia Wu nodded in satisfaction, thinking that they were sensible.

Last time she wore a cheongsam, she didn't have suitable shoes, so Liu Guizhen later made her a pair of cloth shoes with brocade uppers inlaid with pearls. With this outfit, she looked like a rich lady in the Republic of China.

After putting on makeup, Xia Wu called her personal photographer, who was also her brother, and packed some fruit snacks and water so that the little ones could take a break and eat something when they got tired of playing.

Zhao Jing had to be busy early in the morning and couldn't play around with Xia Wu and the others like last time, so not many adults went this time. When Xia Wu led a group of children through the village, they attracted 100% of the attention.

"Hey, Xiao Wu, why are you dressed so beautifully today?"

"Xiao Wu, where are you going?"

Xia Wu replied to them in unison, "Let's go shoot a video."

Everyone knew that Xia Wu was going to shoot a video, and they usually cooperated with her in the shooting. As soon as they heard that she wanted to shoot a video, they understood.

The place the children wanted to take Xia Wu to was not far away, so they planned to walk there, just like a spring outing. The children were very happy and chattered all the way. They walked towards Zimu Mountain and passed a lonely wild pond full of lotus leaves and lotus flowers. This season was the time when lotus flowers were in full bloom. The pond was full of pink and white lotus flowers. The fragrance of lotus flowers in the wind could be smelled from a long distance away. It was a refreshing and pleasant aroma.

"Is this the place?"

"Yes! It's right here. Let's spread out the mat first and put the things on it. When you get tired later, you can sit here and eat."

Yang Mingyuan acted like a child. He took out the spring outing mat from the big wooden basin, found a big tree that could provide shade, and spread the mat on it. The children came together and put the fruits, snacks, tea and desserts they brought on the mat. Then they started to put on their slippers and roll up their pants. There was a small stream next to the pond, and they brought buckets specifically for finding screws.

That big wooden basin can be used to play in the lotus pond. Some villagers in Haotang Village pick lotus flowers and lotus seeds in this way.

Xia Wu was worried that the children might be in danger, so she carefully checked the stream where they were going to catch snails, and confirmed that the deepest part was no deeper than the knees. She also asked several older children to keep an eye on them and call her in time if there was any danger.

Yang Mingyuan brought a few boys to the lotus pond, eager to try. They took turns paddling wooden basins to pick lotus flowers in the pond. There were not many lotus seeds now, and they had to wait until the lotus flowers faded before the lotus seeds would slowly grow out.

The scenery of Yanggou Village is beautiful, and the weather is also suitable today, with blue sky and bright day, and excellent light. Xia Wu looks good in any pose. Yang Hongwen concentrates on adjusting the camera parameters and taking pictures of her in different poses.

Xia Wu also brought some small accessories for taking photos, including a bamboo umbrella and a bamboo fan made for her by Yang Guojun, and the photos she took were very distinctive.

When the girls saw Xia Wu taking pictures, they also wanted to take pictures. Xia Wu pulled them over and taught them how to pose to look good.

Yang Mingyuan picked a large bunch of lotus flowers and gave them all to Xia Wu. The bunch of lotus flowers also became the girls' special bouquet for taking photos.

The boys later also wanted to join in, so Xia Wu simply took turns taking pictures of them, and finally took a group photo.

After taking the photos, Xia Wu sat under the shade of a tree to select the photos. The lotus was placed next to her. The fragrant scent of the flowers made her feel good. Xia Wu really liked the scent of the lotus.

Xia Wu likes the fragrance of lotus flowers, lotus leaves, and bamboo leaves, but there seems to be no good perfume or essential oil that can preserve this fragrance.

Xia Wu felt it was a pity. How about she try making lotus fragrance dew herself?

She has plenty of time, maybe she can really do it.

Xia Wu also took photos of Yang Hongwen. He always hid behind the camera silently, completely wasting his handsome face. It didn't take any effort for Xia Wu to take photos of him.

After all, with her around, her brother's wardrobe has been completely renewed, and she is the one who has chosen the most suitable clothes for him.

It’s such a pity that Yang Hongwen is not included in the Charm Award in the forum. But it may also be because Yang Hongwen doesn’t like to go out and show up in front of strangers. Many people know who he is, but don’t dare to get too close to him.

Xia Wu decided to help her brother to top the list of handsome guys. She picked out a handsome photo and sent it to Zhao Huihui. Not long after, she saw Yang Hongwen's votes in the post, and all of them were cast for her brother!

The children played in the water and caught snails, making a lot of noise. When they were tired, they lay on the grass and ate something. They chattered about the troubles at school, such as too much homework, or a quarrel with their deskmate. The little troubles of these little people seemed very important to them.

Xia Wu listened from the side and felt that his mood seemed to be much more open.

Sure enough, people still have to go out for a walk.

The weather was getting hotter at noon, and seeing that there were already a lot of snails, Xia Wu asked the children to pack up and prepare to go home.

She didn't plan to make any more barbecues. There was already Yang Guoen in the village, so why should she make barbecues herself?

She asked the children to bring the snails to Yang Guoen, and Yang Guoen would cook them. She paid for the children to have barbecue. Within half a day, she received a big order, which made Yang Guoen very busy. Today was a holiday, and there must be a lot of guests outside. Fortunately, Yang Guoen hired a helper, and he was able to adapt after getting used to it.

They wanted to eat barbecue while there were not many customers, so that Yang Guoen wouldn't be busy and delay his business, so they didn't eat lunch in the courtyard of the well. A group of children sat at Yang Guoen's stall, and it was as lively as a sparrow gathering. Xia Wu ordered a cup of sour plum soup for each of them. Miss Yangmei asked them where they had been while she was busy sealing the cups.

The children responded in a flurry, but when Yang Guoen brought over handfuls of grilled skewers, their voices became much quieter.

The eleven children were all big eaters. Yang Guoen spent an hour roasting food at the stall without a moment's rest, and finally managed to feed all the little ones.

When we finally settled the bill, eleven children and two adults ate barbecue until they were full, and the total cost was nearly three hundred yuan.

The snails he caught were sold to Yang Guoen for sixty or seventy yuan.

Xia Wu thought it was quite a good deal.

They picked a lot of lotus flowers and left more than a dozen for Yang Guoen's stall. Feng Lanlan found an oil barrel, cut off the upper half, washed it, scooped river water, put the lotus flowers in it and placed them on the table. The stall instantly became elegant.

I left a few branches for Yangmei to put on the stall table, took the rest home, and shared them with the children. I gave the rest to Xia Wu, put them in a crystal vase, and placed it in the house. It made people feel happy just looking at it.

After some free time, Xia Wu decided to organize the photos he took today and use them to make a video. He uploaded dozens of photos at once without having to bother with editing. The beautiful scenery, beautiful women, and a group of innocent children, the carnival during the long holiday, was already beautiful enough.

Xia Wu sent a photo of herself holding a lotus to Ji Yunzhou. At that time, Ji Yunzhou should still be sleeping soundly.

"Do I look good?"